Shadow Wars
by Iunke
Summary: Com. Romayne an her ragtag team of soldiers have 2 fight a growing threat,the shadow creatures an their ruler,an try 2 save whats left of the US in the far future.Follow her as she meets new people an learns 2 trust the one person she cant afford 2 loose.
1. First Impressions

**OK, so this is the first ever time that i've posted a story. It's all my own stuff, my own Characters, all of it, so i don't have to worry about putting a disclaimer, or what ever. I hope you like it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter One- First Impressions<strong>

"NO STOP... Please!" Whimpered Livi, as she struggled against her assailant. "Stop this Scott, this isn't you! You have to fight it! The shadow creature's making you do th-!"

"HAH! Your precious Scott is GONE!" Screamed the over-shadowed teen, as he proceeded to tear at Livi's already torn PJ's, exposing her front. She struggled fiercely, trying to break free from his hard grasp. Clawing at his arms and chest with her nails, tears started spilling down her face as fear setting into her vary being, fore she knew what was going to happen. She had to stop him at all cost.

_"I have to stop him!... But how, I don't want to hurt him," _she wailed pitifully in her mind, "_I need to get help_. 'HELP! SOMEONE HELP ME!" She franticly screamed to anyone who might hear her_. _"HEL-!" Her screams suddenly get cut short by a sharp blow to the head.

Dazed, she goes limp in Scott's arms; small dots dance in her vision as she gets pushed aggressively agains the wall of her room.

"NO ONE CAN HELP YOU! Your all alone, and since everyone is at the meeting, NO ONE will rescue you." He sneered into her face, grinning wolfishly at her. Then it seemed as if a thought had made its way to the front of the possessed teens mind, causing him to grin even wider. "It looks like your precious Scott has finally revealed his most tormenting fear. Your little friend seems to have feeling for you, and he would do anything to keep you from getting hurt... To bad for him; he's about to fail to do just that..." His face split into that sharp-toothed wolf grin again. "And I know just how to do it, and to make it even more fun, I'm gonna make him watch too-as I rip apart his precious Kitten!"

"You a monster!" Livi spat back, hoarsely. "Scott would never let you do this, he would never give up so easily!" She started struggling furtively again, willing her cat claws back out. Only to be pressed into the wall even harder; his hand at her throat, sufficiently cutting off what little air she was able to get into her burning lungs.

"Here's a news flash for you little girl, he already has!" He yelled as he raised his free fist and punched her in the side of the head, making her head rebound against the wall.

As her surroundings started going dark with the heavy curtain of unconsciousness, she could hear him laughing maliciously into her face, as he started to rip away at her clothes, cutting her with his claws in the process. she could feel a cold sensation spreading though out her entire body, taking over her very being, swallowing her up. She no longer felt the pain she was in, the pain he was inflicting on her, she couldn't feel anything. Only the cold feeling of loneliness; of the complete and utter helplessness and loss, as the over-shadowed teen did what he had intended to do from the start. The shadow creature wanted her humanity, it wanted what made her who she was. That was what they craved after all. They fed on the fear of their host, using that fear against them to inflict pain and suffering on any and all that was near. That's when everything went dark, her body completely numb. She could only hear the distant sound of a blaring siren and the sound of hurrying steps as they went past her door and then there was-

-Banging on her door; suddenly shaking her from her nightmarish hell. Startled she sat up in bed and looked around trying to catch her breath. Hearing the banging again, she could hear the agitated voice of Brigadier General, John Sears. "Commander Romayne! Get up, we have a 'code S' down in the engine room! And I heard it's a big one!"

"Alright, I'm coming!" She yelled back, whipping the sweat off her forehead, pushing her dream, all together, to the back of her mind as she quickly strapped on her gear and morphed into her cat form. Steeling herself for another night of work, she stepped in front of her automatic door as it opened with a whooshing sound, admitting in the light and her subordinate from the hallway outside. She looked up at him, quirking and eyebrow expectantly.

"What took ya so long?" He said grinning down at her with that same wolfish smile from her dream. She stared at him for a moment before shaking her self and adapting a serious demeanor.

"Well, considering you woke me up from a sound sleep... And that's 'what took ya so long **ma'am.' **" She noted pointedly as she motioned to her plain-jane, outfit of a tank top and pajama bottoms. He scratched the back of his neck looking slightly abashed. "Well I didn't think you wanted to miss out on the fun... ma'am."

She smiled at him, nodding her approval, then turning to go down the hall where everyone else was rushing too, John following close behind.

"So what do we got? Dungeon dwelling gremlins, shadow creatures... that nasty, slimy, giant slug?" she said checking to make sure her com-link worked properly.

"Well... we're not precisely sure what it is. The workers in the engine room heard a really loud crash and when they went to investigate they found half the hot water tank completely crushed in and ripped from the ground- as well as several other machines... almost looks like the domino effect, only life sized. My guess? It would probably be the gremlin's, they always get into everything.

"OH great! Out of everything in the entire bace they had to pick the one room that powers half the stuff in this place. So much for hot showers for two weeks." She huffed.

"More like three months. Its a months for us to get there and ask for the stuff, another for them to ship the stuff here with out being detected and then another month to get it all hooked up properly, I'm just glad we still have electricity."

"Oh happy day..." She said frowning at the news, but then went back to business at the sound of another loud crash and the yells of men barking orders at their squads to go this way and that. "Well, no use crying over spilt milk I suppose- Brook!" She yelled down the hall catching the attention of said person and several other in her squad, as she neared them.

"Commander!" He announced, snapping to attention at did the others.

"At ease, so are we ready to tackle what ever it is that's down there?" She asked, looking over her rag-tag team of skilled soldiers. It was still hard to believe that these people would ever take orders from such a young person, especially since a few of them could easily pass to be her parents, being that they where probably in their 30's. Half of them were her age and some younger, even. She herself was only 19 and she carried to rank of a Major General, though they insisted on calling her Commander.

"_I guess it all started when Scott went missing..._" she mused absentmindedly.

"Ma'am, we have reason to believe that it's something big and dangerous, and likely deadly to those who get too close," said Brooks, as he tapped on his little hand held computer; an ear piece in his ear. "Just minutes ago the other squad had to pull out- to many injured."

"_Thank you Major obvious,_ 'Well, did any manage to get a look at this thing?" said Livi, not surprised at this tidbit of not-so-good news.

The looks on their faces basically gave her all the answer she needed. Striding forward, she motioned for them to follow her lead, as she went down the hall to the engine room. "Sears! I want you on my back, when we get in there. Brooks, your on communications and audio. I need your eyes in there watching for anything we don't catch, the rest of you, fan put and cover all the exits, no one gets in or out, any questions?" She turned to them, waiting for any objections as they stopped at the door, seeing none she turned and grabbed the knob. "Good. Lets get this over with so we can all have a good night sleep."

Opening the door, she stuck the mussel of her blaster though, going from right to left. Seeing the all clear she moved forward, Sears close behind, and soon followed by the rest, minus Brooks who was manning the computer just outside the door.

After a few minutes of prowling around the dark room, and running into nothing, Livi looked at her watch, seeing it blink back the numbers 2:36 AM. Sighed, she was starting to feel like this was a big waist of time.

"Do you think it went back from where it came...?" Whispered Sears, basically voicing her next thought, as he glanced around apprehensively. "Its too quiet for something to make such a big racket."

"Startin' to wonder the same thing... I'm callin' Brooks." Activating her com-link, she still looked around. "Brooks you got anything?" Thats when she thought she say something move off behind some of the machines.

"Uhhh... No I got nothin' Commander, its like it disappeared out of thin air- Oh wait, I got something moving at the far end of the room to your right. It looks small, so it should be easy to take it out." He finished.

"Don't forget, Brooks, looks can be deceiving." She said before clicking over to Tiara. "T, where are you?" Thats when she felt a tape on her shoulder.

"What is it, Sears?" she said without looking at him.

"Ma'am, I think we have bigger problem on our hands..." Sighing she looked up, and just when she was about to say something, she stopped short, finally seeing what had riled him. But the creature was't facing them though, it seemed to be too busy munching on one of the machines that powered the bace.

"What is that thing...?"

"I'm not sure, but it can't be good if its after the machines in here." Said Livi, brandishing her weapon, "lets get this over with, so I can go back to bed." Just when they were going to blast the thing to oblivion, her com-link blared to life in her ear and Tiara's voice came in loud and clear for all to hear... including the creature.

"I'm on the far side with Lochlainn and Fatín, we got nothin' here commander."

"Crossland, when we get out of here, you better hope I don't make it out alive."

"Huh-" But she cut off the line, ending all conversation as she ran for cover, Sears not too far behind. The creature roared in agitation, now intent on getting at what ever had interrupted its mid-night snack.

* * *

><p>"Well that was odd..." Said Tiara as she looked at her two friends. They shrugged their shoulders not sure what to say, when they suddenly heard a loud roar off in the direction that their commander was in.<p>

"What was that...?"

"We'd bes' go help... She didn't sound t'pleased on the link." Suggested Lochlainn in a strong Irish accent, as he got out his blaster.

"Umm, sorry to interrupt, but it seem we have our own uninvited guest." said Fatín in an Israeli accent, as she pointed to a shape coming toward them.

"Alright! looks t'me like we get our own action!" Lochlainn piped in excitedly. "Crossland you take left, Fatín, Right.

"Sir!" They both said moving into place.

"Man, That feels soo much better." said Brandon as he left the restroom. "Though I don't know why its so far away from the barracks... It took forever to find this place." Stretching and letting out a big yawn, he started on his way back. "Lets hope I can find my room now.-"

Then suddenly he found himself flat on his back with a heavy weight on his chest and staring down the barrel of an armed blaster. Dazed he looked past the blazing weapon in his face to the person in question, behind it. Seeing it was a fellow soldier he put his hands up in surrender, not wanted to provoke her. Tiara, mean while, took a moment to realize that it wasn't a creature that she had tackled but a human.

"You?" They both said at the same time, Brandon just looked at her, waiting for her to go first.

"Your that new guy, who just transferred right, from the west branch?" She said putting her blaster down.

"Yes, now can you get off me, I can't breath."

"Ah. Sorry... Hey guys, it's just the newb, false alarm!" She yelled as she helped him up.

"_Newb..." _He thought frowning. "What rank are you, soldier?"

"Uh, Sergeant, what's it to you?" She stated as her friends came up to them.

"Dis guy causin' ya trouble, Crossland?" Asked Lochlainn as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Are you the one in charge, here?" He gave him a curt, "Aye"

"Good, now maybe you can shed some light on the situation. why did you have her attack a commanding officer?" He looked at him in the eye, waiting for an answer.

He started laughing.

"Aye, tha's rich! You a Commandin' officer. Listen here boyo, my Commandin' officer s'a higha' rank thin you. She a Major General. An a damn good'un too. She told me to apprehend any 'suspicious' persons in tha area. An tha's just what I'm gonna do." But before he even got the chance, there was a sudden explosion that rattled the entire room. They all went on their guard, ready for an attack. Brandon's animal side showing through in the form of dog ears and a tail- a german shepherd to be exact. But no attack came.

"What was that?" said Brandon, still looking around.

"Shush!" Came the answer he wasn't looking for. "I think tha' came from the Commanda's area... Crossland, Fatín, follow me," then he rounded on him again. "An you be quiet if in ya know wha's good fer ya."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Just then another crash, and the sound of steel being ripped could be heard through out the room.

"Le's go." Commanded Lochlainn as he hurried ahead.

"Damn, this thing just don't give up!" Yelled Sears as he pushed the creature off him and moved before he got hit with a swipe of its claw. The sound of ripping steel was almost deafening as its claw became imbedded into it.

"Just hold on a little longer! I'll contact Brooks, he might know something about this thing!" Livi yelled back, taking shots at it with her blaster- which did nothing. "Damn it." she finished frustrated. "BROOKS! You better have something for me, or its your hide when I'm done!" She yelled into the com-link.

"Sorry Commander... From what I can see in the files it's a metal eater. Its called a Steeler on account that thats all it eats-"

"Thats all very riveting, Brooks, but how about some useful information! Like how do we take this thing down!" She spat back, trying to dodge an attack. "The blasters don't work on the thing!"

"Right, let me see- ok I got it. The acid it spits to make the steel easier for it to eat, is the only thing that can inadvertently kill it. And get this! The exoskeleton is made of the steel it eats."

"Great now how do we do that!"

"I don't know, wave a piece of steel in front of it or something!" Thats when an idea came to her.

"Brooks, have I ever told you your a Genius."

"If we weren't in the middle of a fight, I'd tell you to put that in writing." He answered back flatly and Livi laughed. Then throwing away her useless blaster, she grabbed up a piece of mangled steel and rushed at the thing. Sears saw what she was doing and tried to get to her, but the creature bard his way.

"Commander, what are you doing, that thing's gonna kill you!" He yelled from where he was.

"Not if we can help it!" Yelled Lochlainn as he and his team raced in. Brandon just watching what was happening from the side lines, not sure what to do exactly.

"Oh good, just the man I wanted to see, here, catch!" Throwing the piece of steel, it sailed over the creature, catching its attention. Every one watched as it jumped into the air and literally snatch it in its claws and proceeded to eat it.

"Brooks, you could have told me the stupid thing could JUMP, now it thinks we're trying to feed it!" Livi yelled into the com-link.

"Sorry boss, won't happen again..."

"_Ok so that didn't work, so... what can I do...?_" She thought as she looked around. Spotting Brandon, she skirted the area and rushed over. "You, whats your name?"

Brandon jumped when he was suddenly addressed by a girl that looked about his age. "Brandon Melville...What is that thing?" He said, pointing at the creature, which seemed to have its claws full at the moment, dealing with the rest of the group, and the others that rushed it, from the other side of the room.

"Its called a Steeler, it ate the steel from the machines... I've never seen you before, what Squad are you from?"

"I'm not in one-yet, I'm from the West Branch, I'm the new transfer," thats when they heard another roar and see Lochlainn get thrown pretty hard into one of the machines. "Are you the commanding officer...?"

"Shoot! Ok Brandon, how well can you throw?" Said Livi as she grabbed another piece of mangled metal.

"Um pretty good. '_She ignored my question_." He thought; a bit irritated at how rude she was.

"Good." She thrust the metal into his hands. "Your gonna throw that up to me when I give the signal." Then proceeded to climb up one of the machines to the ceiling above and swung herself up onto one of the support beams. He stood there dumbstruck at just how strong she was considering her small size.

"OK THROW IT UP!" She shouted back when she righted herself.

Shaking himself out of it, he threw it up just in time to almost get pommeled by the creature. He managed to dodge one of its swings and go into a crouch, knocking its feet out from under it with a kick. It went down screeching. Livi, who had caught the metal, watched as he did that, impressed, as she waited for her chance from above. The creature got up, infuriated that it was bested by a human and proceeded to go after Brandon, screeching all the while.

Seeing her chance she stood up on the beam and proceeded to do the following. "HEY, YOU, FREAK WITH TINFOIL FOR A SHELL, LOOK AT WHAT I GOT FOR YA!" She yelled, waving the piece of metal in the air. Her yelling did just what she wanted it to do- get the creatures attention away from the new guy and train on her. Said creature hissed and went down into a crouch. It jumped for the metal but missed since the ceiling was too high.

"What's wrong am I too high for ya! Come on you can do better than that, JUMP FOR IT!" She watched it land on its side and get back up. Shaking its head from the impact, it righting itself, then screeched at her in clear frustration and anger. Then it launched itself into the air, again, spitting its acid at her, unfortunately for it the acid didn't reach its intended target. Instead of the stuff hitting her and the metal it fell back onto the face of the creature, and instantly started to burn it.

The Creature's screams of agony could be heard through out the entire place as it fell to the floor with such a bone chilling crunch that it make chills go up your spine. Livi watched as its screams slowly went silent as the acid burned its way though it body, efficiently killing it, and leaving behind a husk of an outer shell, made purely out of metal, corroded by what was left of the acid.

* * *

><p>Of course the screams of the creature was replaced by joyful cheers from her team as they celebrated. Enjoying the moment Livi sat there on the beam thinking of how great her bed would feel after she got out of her sweaty clothes and under the covers. But upon hearing her Lieutenant happily shout up to her to join in on the small party, she sighed and got up.<p>

"I'm comin' hold your horses!" She shouted down, with a smile on her face. Then proceeded to jump the 30 feet from ceiling beam, to floor, not only scaring half her team but nearly giving the new guy a heart attack as she landed in a crouch next to him. Standing up, she brushed herself off, and smiled at her team like it was nothing at all.

But Brandon, who's heart nearly made friends with his teeth, looked at her shocked. That she would ever attempt to jump from such a hight, was something even a crazy person wouldn't do. And the fact that she was smiling only confirmed that she very well might be crazy, but he did have to admit she was very skilled in fighting these creatures.

"Yo you nearly gave me a heart attack when you did that, Commander!" scolded one of her team mates, jokingly, as they came over to her.

"Yes, well when you have a combat partner, who's a Cheetah, and can jump from 50 feet with out even breaking a sweat, it rubs off on you." Said Livi as she put an arm over Tiara's shoulders and pulled her close; none to gently either.

"Yea well, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't even be in the position you are now." She said back, trying to push her commander off.

"If it wasn't for all of us, you mean." said Brooks as he joined the group. They all laughed at this in agreement.

Brandon stood by watching them as they laughed and make jokes at each other, not sure what to do. It amazed him that their commander would freely let her subordinates talk to her in such a way. His commanding officer back in the West Branch would have had him court marshaled if he ever did that. But then again, with the war the way it was, you would take all the time you could get to have a moment to just relax and enjoy each others company. Thats when he felt a hand clap down on his back, shaking him from his thoughts.

Looking up, he was startled to find the same guy that had let Tiara tackle him earlier, smiling down at him. Now that he was closer he was able to get a better look at the man. He was wearing a military issue, camouflage shirt, that looked as though the sleeves had been ripped off, and matching pants. He looked very well fit and as if he weight lifted large boulders for fun.

He even had an AK-47 strapped to his back, a weapon that you never see these days, and it was in great condition. Looking at his face, the smile he held told him that he was friendly, but if you attacked a team mate he'd be your worst night mare. Brandon made a mental not, not to get on his bad side. And from the animal treats that he carried, he could tell that he was pine marten. Which was a very weary creature, by nature.

"What ya doin' standin' here all on yer own. Come on, I want ya to meet a few people." He said pushing him forward.

"What happened to turning me in to the authorities?"

"HA HAAAH! Nah, I saw ya help th' Commander with out a second though', an she seems impressed wit' you. Wit her, Firs' impressions are ver' important."

"I see..." He said as they got to the group.

"Yo Commanda,' why don' we give th' new guy our 'group welcome," He clapped Brandon on the back again. "Come on, tells us yer name an' where you come from." He finished, smiling at him.

"uhhm, my names Major, Brandon Melville, I transferred from the West Branch, yesterday." He finished, feeling some what unnerved at how they all stopped what they were doing and stared at him, almost as if he intruded in on the group.

After a moment of awkward silence Livi decided to break the ice. "Nice to properly meet you Major, Melville, my name is Major General, Livi Romayne, I'm the leader of this little rag-tag team, you may call me Commander." She held out her hand, he took it and shook it, nodding.

"_So she really is the Commander they kept talking about_." He thought to himself.

"We don't look it, but we're the most skilled out of all the Squads here in the bace, and the four branches."

"I can see that. Your Sergeant, tackled me so fast I didn't even know what hit me." He stated, looking at Tiara. "You said your name was Tiara, right?"

"Yep. I'm the fastest one on the team." She smiled as he shook her hand.

"And I'm sure you already met Second Lieutenant Grady Lochlainn." Livi motioned to the Irish man standing behind him.

"uh, you could say that..." He answered back, smiling sheepishly.

"Ah, we foun' this guy by the res'rooms, lookin' mighty lost." They all looked at him; some with looks that clearly said that they thought that was funny, but were trying to hide it. Thats when one of them piped up.

"You do realize that the restrooms for the soldiers are just down the hall, right?" asked a women, who looked to be in her 30's. She had long wavy, brown hair, and wore a red leather jacket with black skinny jeans, and a black tank top. She was still in her animal form; a fox, and she looked to have the attitude of a fox as well.

"Jamie, be nice, he's new," said another soldier, as he smirked at him, "besides I'd be glad to show him around tomorrow... If you'd be willing to let me skirt combat practice, with the jack rabbit, Cheetah over there." He finished pointing a thumb at Tiara, as he asked Livi.

"HEY... That was one time, OK! Gosh, do you have to bring up everything!" Tiara shot back. The other soldier was about to say something back, when Livi cleared her throat, getting every ones attention.

Satisfied with the reaction, she continued. "Sure Sal, but you'll have to make up for it later, I hope you didn't forget that Tiara doesn't take being picked on lightly." She finished with a smirk.

"How could I forget. I thought she was going to kill me last time... But you have to admit that was pretty funny, I mean she literally-" He was cut off by a growl coming from Tiara's direction, "... Ehhh, never mind..."

"Now that thats settled I'll introduce you to rest of the team." Interjected Livi, trying to get Tiara to calm herself. "This here, is Colonel, Joey Steels," she motioned to a burly man with a mullet. "He's in charge of the weapons distribution in the squad, he's the guy to go to when you need a weapon of any kind." He waved a hand in greeting, but didn't say anything. "He may look all big and scary, but he's the kindest man you'll ever meet." Then motioning to a small, petite girl next to Joey, she continued. "That there is Sergeant Major, Amira Fatín Steels, her, along with Tiara, are in charge of combat practice and training, her specialty is martial art. Which from what I've seen, you'll be in her sessions with in the week. She's married to Steels, so she's off limits." She nodded her head in an equally quiet greeting, Brandon nodded back. Livi was about to continue, but Sal interrupted her.

"Um, with all due respect, Commander, but its really late and some of us want to get some shut eye before another busy day." Every one looked at Livi waiting for a response, when she didn't say anything right away. Brandon could have sworn he felt the temperature drop several degrease, and the look she gave Sal matched. It was devoid of all emotions and Brandon was actually finding it heard to read her face, and it looked like Sal was ready to start pleading for mercy.

Thats when she smiled at him before she finally spoke, the icy temperature dissipating instantly. "You do have a point there Sergeant, and you just reminded me of an important matter I need to address," she turns to Brandon, "one of my subordinates can show you how to get back. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to be going." And with that she left.

Brandon watched her leave, he had noticed that her shoulders where stiff and that her mood had changed drastically. "_Scratch Lochlainn, I don't think I want to even cross her path._" He thought, making a mental note. As soon as she left the room, the sound of a resounding smack echoed through the room, jolting him out of his thoughts.

Turning, Brandon saw Sal messaging the back of his head and cringing. The man that had issued the slap stood about a foot and a halt taller then him, and looked mean. This guy was even taller then Locklainn, and looked powerful. The presence of wolf ears and a tail, testified to that, and the toothy snarl that issued from his mouth, definitely added to the effect.

"You have some nerve, interrupting the Commander like that, Morrone." he growled. "Do you have any clue what she has to deal with on a daily basic. She doesn't need to be reminded about how little sleep she gets, that was a stupid move."

"My bad Sir, I didn't know-"

"No, I suppose not, since your the one who sleeps more then the rest of us put together." He was about to issue another slap when Tiara stepped in front of him, barring him form Sal, and Lochlainn stopped his arm; slapping it away.

"Look here, boyo, jus' cause, yur her, right hand man, doesn't give ya the righ' ta issue punishment when ever some'un speaks outta turn." He stared at him in the face, daring him to make a move. Though this guy was taller then all of them, it was clear that Lochlainn had the upper hand in the muscle department. Brandon watched the other guy; as did everyone else, waiting for a reaction. The guy definitely meant business.

John stared at Lochlainn for a long moment before growling in frustration; yanking his arm away, he turned and left.

After a moment of silence, Brandon heard Tiara speak,"You alright, Sal?" said Tiara as she turned to him, a look of concern on her face.

"Yea, I'm fine, it was just a smack to the head, it's alright," he said brushing it off as nothing.

"_I wonder if anything gets on his nerves..._" wondered Brandon. "_If that was me, I'd be pissed._" That's when he felt a tap on his shoulder, turning to his right he found Amira at his side. He looked at her questioningly.

"If you'd follow me I can show you the way back to your room." She said in a soft voice and without getting a response she turned and started toward the door her commander had left. Catching up to her before she got to the door, he stopped for a moment to look back.

Seeing his glance she smiled, "They'll be fine, we take care of our own in this team."

"Well then what was with the other guy? He didn't seem to keen on being helpful." He said back, quirking and eye brow. She chuckled softly in amusement before answering. "John has a habit of seeing himself as the Commanders defender. He feels he must protect her title as a commanding officer."

"How long have they known each other?" He asked curious.

"Long before any of us really. Tiara's also known her longer, I guess. since Sal is the newest team member in our squad, John takes it upon himself to show him who the boss is." She sighed.

Brandon looked at her, she had a sad look about her, as if she wanted to help Sal but didn't know how to. Deciding to change the subject, he asked another question. "So how long have you known Joey?" She looked at him questioningly, "Uhh, not that I need to know, just curious... You two seem like you enjoy each other."

She smiled again; this time sweetly. "I've known him since we were kids and we've been through hell and back together since the beginning of the war... what's the number of your room...? We've bee walking for a bit." She said, changing the subject.

"Uhhm, room 127... '_I guess she doesn't want to talk about it..._" He finished as a thought.

"I see. You room is just down the hall, it seems the General gave you the room that use to belong to and old friend of the Commander's-" She stopped short, not sure if she should go any further

"An old friend? Did they get transferred?" Asked Brandon; noticing the way she stopped short.

"I've said to much. If you want to know more about the Commanders life you must ask her yourself." She stopped walking; looking back at her, he realized they had arrived at his room. "Just don't be surprised if she refuses to tell you. Our team has secrets that we don't want the other's to know about. If that trust is betrayed, there could be dire consequences."

Looking at her, wide eyed, his mind begged the questions, "_what secrets, and what kind of consequences.._?" He suddenly felt like he had gotten in way over his head. Realizing that Amira was still there he smiled at her. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for showing me back to my room."

Amira bobbed her head and started to leave, when Brandon suddenly remembered something that would be very helpful in the future. "Um, wait.-" "Yes?" She answered back, looking at him. "Could you tell me where the bathrooms are... So i don't get lost again?" He asked sheepishly.

Smiling she pointed down the hall in the direction she was headed. "Down the hall on your right. Anything else?"

"No, thank you though." She nodded again and bit him good night, before leaving him alone in the hallway.

Opening the door, he entered his room, and looked around some what put out of sorts. He had met, possibly the weirdest group of soldiers that seemed too dysfunctional to work together properly, yet they managed. And to top it all off they're commanding officer looked to be his age; 19, much too young for such a high rank. It just seemed all to confusing. "I guess I'll just have to ask the General about them when I see him tomorrow, but for now I'll just sleep on it." He mumbled out loud to himself as he grabbed up his bible and placed in the bed stand next to his bed. He had been reading before he had to go find the bathroom.

Plopping down on the bed, he reached up and pulled the string to the lamp, plunging the room into complete darkness.

Unbeknownst to the two in the hall, Livi was still very much awake, and hearing the new guy asking about her, set her on her toes. She wasn't sure why she cared what Brandon thought of her, but some how she did. Laying still in her bed she listened in on their conversation.

"I see. You room is just down the hall, it seems the General gave you the room that use to belong to and old friend of the Commander's-" Then there was a pause, before she heard Brandon Speak. "An old friend? Did they get transferred?" Livi froze, holding her breath. "_Would Fatín tell him?... No I made every one swear to me that they wouldn't unless I said otherwise_." She thought wildly. Thats when she heard her speak again. "I've said to much. If you want to know more about the Commanders life you must ask her yourself." There was another pause, but it was enough for Livi to breath again. "_So she's not going to tell him, ok good._" She thought relieved.

Thats when she heard her continue. "Just don't be surprised if she refuses to tell you. Our team has secrets that we don't want the other's to know about. If that trust is betrayed, there could be dire consequences." Livi made a face at the ceiling from hearing that statement. "Great going Fatín, Now I'll have to tell him." Sighing in slight agitation she rolled over into her side, no longer interested in the conversation. But hearing Brandon's next statement only confirmed that the conversation was over anyway. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for showing me back to my room."

After that Livi drifted off into an unrestful sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Well thats chapter 1, i hope you liked it. i want reviews to know how i did and if i need to fix anything. thank you for reading! ^.^<strong>


	2. Interesting Introductions

Chapter 2 Interesting Introductions

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! SMACK! "Urrg, I thought I turned that off..." said Livi as she groggily rolled over on her back. Looking back at the alarm clock, it blinked back the numbers 6:00 A.M. Sighing she sat up, stretched, and yawned, before squinting around her overly bright room. Glaring at nothing in particular she grabbed the shades on her window and closed them as she plopped down on her bed and into her pillow. "Forget getting up, I'm going back to sleep, the team can handle the morning without me." She mumbled, closing her eyes to fall into blissful sleep.

That's when she heard a slight knocking on her door, opening her eyes she glared at the wall. "Ma'am, uhm, Grand General Williams would like to see you." Growling, Livi got up; stomping to her door, and as it whooshed open Livi pointedly glared at the disturbance in her doorway. The girl standing before her stepped back in slight fear at the look on the commanders face.

Looking at her, Livi could see that she couldn't have been much older than her, in fact she looked too young to be in such a war, but then again this base served as much a refugee camp as a base for the resistance.

"What the hell does that old geezer want this early in the morning," she asked, not caring that she just insulted her superior.

"Um, well..." But she paused, looking quite nervous.

That kind of ticked her off, "Well spit it out, or I'm going back to bed!" Livi was mad now, and didn't care if she scared the girl or not. She knew at this point by now that her ears and tail had made an appearance, as well as her fangs.

Staring more at her ears and fangs rather than her face she answered, flustered. "The Grand General wants you to show the new transfer around the base." Livi squinted at her for a moment trying to think. "_New transfer...?_" That's when she remembered last night. "_Ohh that transfer. Riiiight.' _What rank are you, I don't remember ever seeing you before?" She said pretending to ignore what the girl just said.

A little put off, she blinked. "L-lance Corporal, Kati Rosen, I'm new, but I've been here for about a month. I was recommended by Lieutenant General Santiago, and I work in the intelligence and resource branch." She paused, her brow knitting together when she saw that Livi was staring at her, but not really seeing her, not to mention she looked exhausted as hell. "Ma'am, are you alright?" Poking her forehead, she tried to get her attention, but only succeeded in making the girl jumped and glare at her for a moment.

"What do you want? I'm tired." Livi spat grumpily, Kati squeaked and withdrew her hand not wanted to elicit more anger from her. Noticing, Livi sighed, and looked down the hall; it was deserted say for a few soldiers, talking to each other. "Look, give me an hour an 'a half, I need shut eye, I don't get enough sleep as it is, and being woken up at 6:00 in the morning doesn't help, I had a busy night last night, so I have more important things to do then show the Major around.' _Though I wouldn't mind doing so, I just don't think he wants to deal with some one who's really crabby.' _Tell the old man that. I'm sure he'll understand." She finished as she waving her hand at Kati, trying to dismiss her. She was about to turn to go back into her room, when she noticed that Kati hadn't moved.

"What, do you not know how to get back to his office...?" She said unenthusiastically. She seemed kind of antsy, like she wanted to say something, but was afraid to come out and say it. "_I know I'll probably regret this, but-_' Look, I can show you how to get there-."

"N-no, that isn't the problem, I know how to get back, I was just wondering... About LTG Santiago, he recommended me, but I barely know him... And since he's your commanding officer... I was wondering if you could tell me about him."

That through Livi off, usually someone with such a low rank as hers wouldn't even consider trying to get to know their higher ups, let alone ask about them. Most just go about their business, and do what their ordered, being that their pencil pushers an all. "_This could be interesting_."

"Well for starters, he's a very busy person, and if you want to get to know him you're not gonna get anywhere by asking other people about him." Getting the desired effect of seeing her hope deflate like a balloon, she went on. "But since you're asking me, and not some other random person, I can tell you a few things." Seeing Kati smile, she smirked back. "Come by my office at lunch, and we can talk."

"OK! Arigato MG Romayne." With that she bowed slightly and raced off toward the Grand General's office. Livi watched her race off, an eye brow raised. "What an odd person..." she shrugged her shoulders and turned back to her room to go back to bed. "I guess I'll be seeing more of her if she's gonna follow Santiago around..." The door whooshed closed behind her.

Meanwhile in the Grand General's office, Brandon was staring at a huge tapestry painting of the world map; back when the United States where actually united. Now the country was divided into territories, thanks to China, and all the other armies that pretty much hated US's guts. Not only was the US split, but physically also. Parts of it floated off- Like California and parts of Florida, and then New Grand Lake appeared. It was basically a giant hole that opened up alongside the Adirondacks during the Great Catastrophe of 2030, which killed millions of people. It got its name for its shear depth and length; spanning from the mouth of Old Mississippi River, all the way up through to what was Niagara Falls, now known as the Great Falls of Providence Canada. And since it filled up with sea water, the water level actually dropped significantly around the world, witch caused the deaths of many species of the aquatic persuasion.

During the Great Catastrophe, many other things happened; the shadow creatures came to be. Originating from New Grand Lake, they started terrorizing anyone they got a hold off; causing more wide-spread death and destruction. Even more heart breaking then that was that parts of the US was sunk into the ocean. The Florida Keys and Miami- gone, half of Texas- disappeared down a sink hole that opened up. Nevada, all the way up to parts of New Canada, devastated by massive volcano's that sprouted up when the San Andria's Fault line Split, causing California to become an island. All in all the United States now, are nothing like what it used to be.

Now 25 years later, the shadow creatures are being controlled by a vicious ruler, and are systematically trying to take out ever base of the resistance, an army of US military, Navy, and any who had the heart to fight, no matter the age. There are some even as young as 10 in the resistance, and though they don't really get to fight till they get of age, they get to help in ways of cleaning or cooking, just so that they could feel useful in the fight against the shadows. Of course when they say 'of age' they mean when you're about 14. They stick you in rigorous training classes, and make you train till your red in the face, or crying in shear pain because they'd push you to hard.

But it wasn't all that bad really, there were good times as well, though very few. Like after particularly gory battles, when we would come home the victors, we made sure to celebrate, and lift up spirits so that we may avenge the lost in the next battle. As they say, "go into battle dismayed, and the battle is already lost." Of course with the resent take overs of the few bases we had, being high spirited was getting increasingly hard to do.

Looking away from the map and not wanting to engage the thought of failure any longer, Brandon gazed around the large study. The room he was in was full of bookshelves which reaches the ceiling, and covered two walls. In the middle of the room was a very elegant, red wood desk, which complimented the rooms stained wood trim and white carpeting. The walls were a very soft beige color with golden curtains on the windows that looked out into the training grounds of the base. The room was old fashioned and though he hadn't met the Grand General he could tell that this guy had good taste.

Hearing the door to the study open he turned expecting to see the figure of a tall man who carried himself with the pride of many battles won, instead he saw an old man that looked like he'd been around the block one to many times. Brandon watched the old man make his way to the large desk in the center of the room as he leaned heavily on a red wood cane.

"_This really can't be the guy I've heard so much about, right…..?_" thought Brandon, a bit confused. "_I mean he's a bit old to be running this place._"

The old man sat at the desk and proceeded to scribble something on a piece of paper and go about his business as if Brandon wasn't even in the room. He was about the make his presents known when the old man looked up and stared right at him with a questioning look on his face, as if he knew all along that Brandon was, and standing by the map the whole time.

A long uncomfortable moment went by before the man finally got up and stood to his full height without the cane. "Well, are you going to stand there all day gawking at me or are you going to introduce yourself, soldier." At this Brandon jumped into a solute. "Sorry Sir! My name's Major, Brandon Melville, and I've-"

"I know who you are boy, and I would implore you to be more courteous when your superior comes into a room- particularly his own study."

"Forgive me Sir, up till now I had not realized that you were the Grand General of this base."

"That's better. See that is doesn't happen again." Brandon nodded and GG Williams sat back down and started scribbling even more on the same paper, "Now that that's taken care of, I trust that you've already met your team?" He looked up when he didn't get an immediate answer.

"Team, Sir?' _He can't possibly mean Romayne's team, right_?" Williams put his pen down and put his hands, palm down, on the desk.

"Major General, Romayne hasn't briefed you yet, she was supposed to notify you before this meeting that you will be in her squad from this day forward."

"No Sir. Though I did see her last night when that Steeler demon attacked the engine room."

"Yes, I heard about that, I trust you now know where the bathrooms are?"

"Yes, Sir, but how-" The sound of a door opening made him cut his words short out of habit, as a young girl stepped in and bowed.

"Yes, what is it Rosen?"

"Sorry for the interruption Sir, but I have a message form MG, Romayne. She said to tell you that, she needs an hour an 'a half of shut eye, and that she doesn't get enough sleep as it is. And being woken up at 6:00 in the morning doesn't help, she had a busy night last night, and that she had more important things to do then show the Major around."

"_Ouch_…."

"I see. Thank you Rosen you may go." With that she bowed low and left with a troubled look on her face. Brandon looked back at the General expecting to see anger on his face, but saw nothing. Instead he was just scribbling on the paper in front of him again.

"Sir, forgive me for asking, but wasn't that a bit rude? I mean, you are her superior." Ventured Brandon, trying not to sound to nosey. The General put his pen down and looked at him for a long moment before gracing him with an answer.

"Major General, Romayne, though she may come across as rude and over barring at times, is an excellent soldier. She deserves the respect she worked for over the short time she's been in my army. She has worked harder than anyone I know, and is allowed to take whatever time she needs off if she so choose, and if you want to make it in her squad, you will show her that respect and do as she asks of you." All Brandon could do was nod, since he had no clue about Romayne's history with the General.

Looking at his desk he suddenly noticed a small picture frame next to the Generals phone. Brandon was at a good enough angle to see and old photo from the side. The photo was a close up of a little girl with short orange hair and a younger looking General, aiming at an invisible target off the photo, the little girl looked to be about 10 years old and had her hands on a hand held proton blaster. She was smiling a mischievous smiling as the man was showing her how to aim the deadly weapon, she looked incredibly like Livi, only younger, with her small orange and white tipped cat ears and tail. Then it clicked, the General must be related to MG Romayne.

Looking up at the man he noticed that he too, was looking at the photo with a look of fondness on his face, Brandon was about to ask him about it when the General spoke. "She was only 9 when that photo was taken. She was so energetic and loved everything about the base. She literally begged me the show her how the shoot that gun that day, she was so adamant about it that I couldn't refuse." That's when Brandon put two and two together; that girl in the photo had to Livi. "How long had MG Romayne been here?"

"Her whole life, her parents were killed in a shadow creature raid when she was 5. I was next of kin so I took her in." The General caught the suspicious, wondering look on Brandon's face and instantly knew what he was thinking. "No, I did not put her in the rank she's in now just because she's my grand-daughter; it's true that she wasn't allowed to join the forces till she was 14, but she worked her tail off to get the rank of Major General. Her squad can testify to that."

"Bwa… of course." Said Brandon, stumbling over his word. That's when he remembered what he wanted to ask the General in the first place. "…. Sir I have a Question."

"Go on."

"Last night after the Steeler attack, and after the regrettably short meeting of her squad, Sergeant Major, Fatín was kind enough the walk me to my room, however we got talking and she mentioned and old team mate, a close friend of Romayne's, and that I had gotten his room, could you tell me what happened to them. Not that I'm being nosy, I was just wondering."

"You're not the only one to ask that question, however, I believe that is a question better answered by her."

"But sir-" that's when the door to the study was slammed open, making the framed photo of the General rattle on the wall from the vibrations. The person in question; a very pissed looking MG, with orange hair, stomped in, already in her cat form, right up to the general and slapped her fists on the dark wood of his desk, making a few small nick-knacks jump.

"What's the big idea about you sending armed guard to me room to escort me to your study for a stupid meeting! I don't recall a tour of the base being top priority, old man!"

"I did it anticipating that Rosen would come back, without you and with only a message."

"Are you that paranoid that you have to rob me of my sleep!" she shouted, nearly whacking Brandon in the face what she flailed her hand back in emphasis.

That's when the Grand General stood up, his shoulders tense and with an air of intimidation that would scare anyone into submission. "Major General, Olivia Ann Romayne!" He boomed, "Are you so blind that you can't see we have a guest! Or do I have to remind you again not to be disrespectful!"

"_W__hoa_…." Was all Brandon could think.

"I'm not afraid of you, old man! I've been trained by the best, I could run circles around you 10 times over, and you know it! And what the hell do you mean by guest?" She whipped around to face this supposed person and stopped short.

"_Did she really not see me when she came in…?" _thought Brandon, feeling insulted. He gave her a look of indifference when she turned around.

"A_w shit..." _was the only thing that came to mind when she saw Brandon sitting there, looking at her with a blank face; she knew right then that he was not pleased.

"Uhhhm..." seemed to be the only syllable that she could articulate, she felt so embarrassed.

"Don't." said brandon, waving a hand in dismissal, "It seems you are too busy to deal with me." He turned to the Grand General, "Perhaps someone else-"

"NO-!" shouted Livi, effectively making Brandon jump. "I mean... I'll do it." She finished, trying to regain her composure.

"Are you sure?" He was answered with a look that basically said '_are you challenging me?' _"I'll take that as a yes."

"Then it's settled, Major you are to follow her and take notes on where everything is located." he then turned to Livi. "And you are not to brush him off at any opportunity that arrises, do I make myself clear Major General? They both nodded, though, somewhat begrudgingly. "Good, you're dismissed." They both gave a short bow and made to leave.

Walking down the hall to the next room; which was the training room where Tiara and Fatín worked, the silence between the two of them was so deafening that Brandon thought his ears had stopped working for a time. At least until she let out discontented sigh and stopped walking all together. Turning around to see why she stopped, he wasn't expecting to see her cat ears and tail out, nor the embarrassed look she had on her face.

"Um... are you ok...?" he asked tentatively, not wanting to make her angry. "_Can she not control her cat form..._?" he wondered as an after thought. Her ears went down and she looked at the floor whispering something. The way she looked made his think of how adorable she looked all the sudden; he almost wanted to go pet her ears to see how soft they were, but he forced his self not the move from his spot. Something told him that if he ever did that he'd loose a hand.

That's when he realized that she had said something, but since she said it so low he didn't catch what it was.

"What did you say, I didn't hear you, sorry." She pursed her lips and glared up at him from were she was standing.

"I said. I'm sorry for the way I acted in there, it was not the way a high ranking officer should act. It was... unnecessary."

"_No kidding..._' It's fine, though I believe you should be apologizing to the Grand General instead of me." That earned him the 'I already know that' glare as she crossed her arms.

"It was his fault in the first place, he knows I don't get enough sleep," she protested," and last night's mission didn't help." She started walking again, ending the conversation.

"_Like grand-father like grand-daughter I suppose... both bossy._" Thought Brandon as they got to the door of the training room.

As they entered the room, they could hear the sudden cry of aggravation and a shout of pain as Sal got flipped and thrown across the room by Sergeant Crossland. Both Livi and Brandon visibly wince when he crashed and skidded across the floor on his back.

"Thats for broadcasting to half the bace about that stunt you pulled!" she yelled after him. They watched as Sal staggered to his feet, "Awe come on, it was funny! Lighten up!" he shouted back, smiling. Needless to say that infuriated the cheetah even more, for she raced at him at top speed and pounced on him, claws out and ready. But before she could horrible maim the poor guy, Livi intervened by grabbing her in the back of the caller and throwing her back; Tiara's claws coming with in inches of Sal's Face.

Doing a double take, Brandon looked at where Livi had been standing next to him, then back to where she was now. He didn't even see her move, she was so fast. Amazed, he stood there watching her as she restrained Tiara by pinning her the ground. She was struggling a whole lot but it looked like Livi was having no trouble, so he decided to go see if Sal was ok.

"Hey, you alright?" asked Brandon as he offered a hand up.

"Yea... Hey, you should have her court marshaled for assaulting an officer!" yelled Sal as he dusted himself off.

"Shove it, Sergeant!" Livi shot back as she help Tiara up, and shockingly enough Sal shut his mouth up, quick. "T, go take a break."

"But-"

"Go. Sit." Livi glared at her, and seeing that all too familiar look in her eyes, Tiara smirked at Sal and went to the benches. "Major, I suggest you get out of the way or become part of the floor." Seeing the excited, but threatening look on her face, he decided to do just that. She obviously meant business. Sitting down next to Tiara, he leaned over to her. "She's not going to kill him is she...?"

"No, but she will humiliate him. He should be grateful that it's not in front of the entire base."

"What's she going to do to him?"

"You'll see. Now shush I wanna watch this."

Turning back to the potential fight, they saw Livi circling Sal like she was sizing him up as a piece of meat.

"Uhm... Commander? What are you doing...?" Sal was getting more and nervous by the minute as his coyote form made an appearance. Livi kept moving like a prowling animal, ignoring his question. Then suddenly, and without warning, her ears, tail, and claws appeared and she was racing toward him so fast that it was almost hard to keep track of her. The orange and green clad blur seemed to hit and rebound off Sal so fast that there was to be a split second before Sal went flying into the opposite wall on the other end of the room. He slid to the floor and looked at her, wide eyed and somewhat dazed, but what was amazing was that there wasn't a scratch on him, not even a hint of blood in the air.

Brandon looked at her astonished, and the fact that Livi was literally standing in the exact spot Sal had been in, tapping her foot as if she was waiting in line for lunch, was incredible. As they watched Sal get up, Livi started walking toward him again like she was walking through a park, her claws ready.

"Its funny how you talk all the time about how skilled you are, and how much stronger you are then every one else. Yet, here you are now, and you can't even protect your self from a simple push!" Livi taunted, as she moved forward.

"That was a push? It looked like you were going to kill him!" Said Brandon, in shock. Livi ignored him and kept walking toward Sal.

"That's her most popular move; in a real battle, believe it or not, she would have killed someone doing just that." Said Tiara, as she watched excitedly, "He's lucky, cause she's going really easy on him."

"What does the attack do... if she were to use it for real?"

"Well I've only seen it once, but basically she gets incredibly still, and starts drawing in mana from the area around her and when it gets to the highest possible level she strikes at such a high speed that the attacker can't react. Then, when she delivers the blow, she thrusts that mana through her hands creating a kind of barrier that repels the attacker away so fast that their insides get torn apart." Tiara shivered at the thought and looked at him. "But it does have its draw backs. Did you notice when she rebounded?"

"Yea, it looked like she bounced off him."

"Well that was the barrier, it's basically one of the laws of motion in action. For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. When she first had to perform the attack for real, she almost killed herself.

Brandon was shocked at this. How could Livi ever want to use such a fatal attack? "But how is she able to still use it? Isn't it going to cause her pain?"

"Good question, I don't even know that answer... She won't tell me. I'm not even sure how she survived the attack, I mean, the guy was torn to shreds... Shockingly enough, the guy survived too..."

"Who was the guy?"

Tiara went quite for a moment, and looked back at the fight. "I'm not allowed to say, all I know is that when we found her in her room, she was covered in blood and bleeding profusely; the guy was in worse shape... Livi's not even sure what exactly happened either, and from what she told us when she finally regained consciousness about two months later, was that every thing had gone dark and all she could hear was screams of pain and a loud crash... looks like she's done playing with Sal." She finished, effectively ending the conversation.

Looking around he saw Livi helping up a bruised and cut up Sal, that's when he saw Fatín on the other side of the room, also watching quietly.

"Fatín, take Morrone to the infirmary, he's been embarrassed enough." Said Livi as she lead him to her. She nodded and lead him out of the room.

Watching her as she walked over, Brandon noticed that she was limping and looked pale and could see a small smudge of blood at the corner of her mouth, like she tried to whip it away. Concerned, he got up and came over to her; she didn't look to great.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine. Just tired... and thirsty." She seemed to wilt then, and swayed a bit as if a wave of dizziness had hit her, suddenly she topple over. Thinking quickly he caught her around the waist, and supported her.

"I think your body says otherwise..."

"I'll get you some water." And with that Tiara was out the door.

Leading her over to the benches, Brandon had Livi sit, though she kept protesting that she was fine.

"Would you stop worrying about me, I'm fine." She said as she sat down heavily.

Brandon knelt down in front of her and proceeded to take her foot in his hands to look at her ankle, regardless of her complaining.

"OW, stop that!" She swiped at his hands, earning him three scratches on the back of one of them.

"I'm trying to help you, stop complaining." he said, ignoring the stinging.

And if looks could kill, he would have been on the floor gasping for air, like in these old Star Wars movies when Darf Vator would use his dark force to choke people from far away. Her glare was murderous, yet she didn't come back with a retort, instead she crossed her arms and leaned back on the wall in a huff, pointedly looking away form him.

He rolled his eyes, and went back to what he was doing. "Can you move it?" She sighed and looked at him while she rotated her foot.

"There, see? It's fine." He looked up at her, and she raised and eyebrow at him in return.

"Ok good. So I guess you won't mind if I do this." with that he pressed two knuckles into the bottom of her foot, causing her to yelp in pain. "Well jee, I thought you said it was fine, I barely pressed on it." She glared at him. "You didn't sprain your ankle but you foot's out of joint. You need to get it checked." Then he got up and sat next to her on the bench and leaned back. Looking up he noticed many different dents in the vents, lights, and pipes, like some one had taken boulders and pitched them at the ceiling for fun. However when he took a closer look at one of the dents, it had a very human like shape to it. Not wanting to think about what might actually go on in here, he looking back at Livi. She cleared her throat absentmindedly as she tapped her foot impatiently. She stilled looked like she wanted to gnaw someones arm off.

"You know for someone who's a freakin' cheetah, she's incredibly slow..." she said, almost sounding bored, then she turned to him. "What were you and Tiara taking about before, during the fight?"

Caught off guard he blinked at her for a moment; she looked at him patiently waiting for him say something.

"Uhh well, she told me about that special move you used on Sal, and that apparently it's dangerous to you and the attacker... Why use such a dangerous move anyway?"

"_That better be all they talked about..._' Well that's simple, I'm the only one who perfected it, not even the old man could pull it off. And no I'm not going to tell you how it doesn't effect me, cause then every one would be able to do it."

"If it was that easy you wouldn't have that smudge of blood on you chin right now." She frowned and proceeded to try and whip it off, he chuckled at her.

"Hey don't laugh at me! I never said it was perfect!" she batted at his arm.

"Yes you did." Now he was laughing at her.

"Shut up!" She crossed her arms in a great huff, and glared at the wall as if she wanted to burn a hole into it. Brandon couldn't help but think that she looked really cute when she pouted like that, the ears and tail only made her look all that much more adorable.

That's when the door opened, admitting a somewhat stressed out and soggy looking Tiara. As she hurried over to them, she handed Livi the water as if it would burn her.

"Thanks, what took you so long?"

"Well, first I had to find a working water fountain when I got a cup, and when I did I was literally half way back when I had a sneezing fit out of no where and I spilled it all over myself, so I had to go all the way back and get more water." Livi and Brandon shared a look; Tiara saw it. "What's that look for?" she accused, raising an eye brow.

"Nothing, thank you for the water though." Livi took it, and drank the entire thing as if she hadn't had water in days. Tiara shrugged it off though she had her suspicious.

"Well what ever, now could you get out of here, I got someone coming in, in a few minutes, to pop the dents in my ceiling."

"Alright we'll go, but you need to stop throwing your students into the vents, you don't want to burst another water pipe do you?"

"No..." She averted her eyes making Livi laugh.

"Ok, good. Brandon lets go, next stop's the firing range." she said as she both started towards the door.

"Hey guys, be careful Jerry's in one of his moods again!" Tiara yelled after them. Livi waved a hand in acknowledgment before they went out into the hall. But some how that worried Brandon, even though Livi showed no sigh of concern.

OK so thats chapter 2. review please! :D 


End file.
